Swipe no more: Apple said to be developing 'touchless' iPhone screens

By Hayley Tsukayama

Smudgy iPhone screens may be a relic of the past, if reports of Apple testing a "touchless" screen are true.

The company is said to be developing a screen that lets a person control some phone features by hovering their finger over it, rather than tapping and swiping, according to Bloomberg.

Smudgy iPhone screens may become a relic of the past.

The report on Wednesday, which cited unnamed "people with knowledge of the matter," said the technology is in its early stages and may never make it to market. Even if it does, the people said, it would not be for at least two years.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Apple has long embraced new ways for humans to interact with computers. Co-Founder Steve Jobs popularised the mouse in the early 1980s. Apple's latest iPhones have a feature called 3D Touch that responds differently depending on different finger pressures. The new gesture technology would take into account the proximity of a finger to the screen, the person said.

The iPhone, like many smartphones, has been criticised in recent years for not breaking new ground. Even Apple's new iPhone X, which introduced new facial recognition technology and a nearly all-screen front, failed to universally impress reviewers. Changing the way that users interact with screens could offer something new on the market depending on how it's implemented.

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Samsung has used the sensors in smartphones to give phone users the ability to control their screens without touching them. Users could wave their whole hands over the screen to flip through images in an album, for example. Based on the iPhone report, it sounds like Apple is developing screens that could detect someone's finger, rather than the whole hand.

The report also said Apple may be working on curved screens, which other phone makers including Samsung have incorporated into their designs. The iPhone displays would curve inward gradually from top to bottom, one of the people familiar with the situation said. That's different than the latest Samsung smartphone screens, which curve down at the edges. So far, every iPhone model has used a flat display.

Apple's budget for research and development has been ramping up in the past couple of years, topping $US3 billion ($3.8 billion) in the last three months of 2017, according to financial filings. As Apple analyst Neil Cybart of Above Avalon pointed out in 2016, Apple rarely spends more than $US3 billion on research and development in a full year, even four or five years ago.

The firm is also reportedly working on a completely new type of screen technology, MicroLED, and may also be developing its own chips to replace the Intel components in its personal computers.

Pressure to stand out

The work comes as the California-based smartphone pioneer looks to make its gadgets stand out. Smartphones have become increasingly similar as Apple, Samsung, Google, and Huawei Technologies adopt features like full screens, advanced cameras, and facial recognition at roughly the same time.

In the fourth quarter, Apple was responsible for about 20 per cent of smartphone shipments following the launch of the iPhone X and iPhone 8, beating out second place Samsung and Huawei, according to IDC. To stay ahead, Apple needs compelling new features and designs. Samsung is already working on a foldable smartphone, while Huawei is seeing increased success in Asia.

While the Apple projects aren't imminent, the company has near-term plans to expand OLED technology, or organic light emitting diode, to more devices, according to other people familiar with the matter. It will release a second iPhone with that type of screen later this year; a larger model with a 6.5-inch screen, up from the 5.8-inch size in the current iPhone X. The company is also working on an update to the iPhone X's size and a new, lower-cost LCD model.